Ryan Bridge: How much will Winter cost us this year?

She was a chilly weekend. 

Even in Auckland it was only 5 degrees. 

We had the heat pump cranking the entire weekend. I spoke to a friend in Marlborough who had the fire going all weekend. They had a proper frost there. 

It's right about now you start thinking... how much is all this going to cost me?

The answer $250 for May for a house of two persons, one dog. 

Already we've spent $70 for June. 

This is one of the few bills I pay in our household so it's one of the few I notice. 

It's not going through the roof... and is tracking roughly the same as last year. 

And disclaimer... our place is old and cold, poorly ventilated and you basically need either air con or heat all the time.

There is good news on the energy front for 2025, not that it directly affects us as much, more the big industrial users. 

Forsyth Barr released an energy note on Friday... they reckon we'll avoid another big energy crunch this winter. The next one is due 2026. 

That means no risk of blackouts.

The reason we've avoided this is because electricity producers did a deal with Methanex. And we've had rain - so the hydro lakes have been given a top up. 

To avoid future blackouts, we'll need to cut industrial demand and burn more coal. 

And that brings us to gas - a shortage of which caused last year's energy price crunch.

Forsyth Barr reckons the government's push for gas is unlikely to solve out problems. 

It takes two to three years to get a gas field up and running. First you have to find it. Right now, nobody's even looking. No fields are being explored. 

By the time you get gas out of the government's $200-million budget buy-in, the energy shortages will likely have passed.

It's one thing to let the producers go it alone, it's another to put our money on the line to develop these fields. 

There's a genuine question about whether this is smart investment in our future or if taxpayer money is being wasted.

A bit like the heat escaping from my old house. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
She was a chilly weekend, wasn't she? Even in Auckland
it was five degrees. We had the heat pump cranking
the entire weekend. I spoke to a friend of Marlborough
last night who had the fire going all week and
they actually had a proper frost. It's right now you
start thinking, though, isn't it? How much is all this
going to cost? Me? And the answer, because I checked
this morning the power bill, the answer was for May

(00:21):
two hundred and fifty dollars for a house of two
people one dog. Already we've spent seventy dollars for June,
which what are we the ninth of June At the moment.
This is one of the few bills that I actually
pay in our household, so it's one of the few
that I really notice. It's not going through the roof
tracking roughly the same as last year. And disclaimer for
those of you thinking this is an outrageous amount, our

(00:44):
place is old and cold, pretty poorly ventilated, and basically
you need either aircorn in the summer on all the
time or heat in the winter. There is good news
on the energy front though for twenty twenty five, not
that it directly affects us ALL more than big industrial users,
but by virtue of that us All Forsythe bar released
an energy note on Friday. They reckon we'll avoid another

(01:06):
big energy crunch this winter, but we will return to
one in twenty twenty six. So no blackouts for twenty
twenty five, which is good. The reason we've avoided this
is because the electricity producers did to deal with methodex
and we've had rain, so the hydrolinks have been given
a top up. To avoid future blackouts, we'll need to
cut industrial demand, which is not great for business, and

(01:28):
burn more coal, and that brings us to gas, a
shortage of which caused last year's energy price crunch. Forsyth
Bar reckons the government's push for gas is actually unlikely
to solve our problems. It takes two to three years
to get a gas field up and running. First, you
have to find it right now, nobody's even looking. No

(01:49):
gas fields are being explored. By the time you get
gas out of the government's two hundred million dollar budget
buy in, the energy shortages will likely have past. It's
one thing to let the producers go it alone and
risk their investment in capital. It's another to put our
money on the line to develop these fields. There's a

(02:10):
genuine question about whether this is smart investment in our future,
or if taxpayer money is being wasted here, a bit
like the heat escaping from my old house. For more
from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live to News
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